


The Melancholy Of That Infamous Superstar

by Anonymous



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Concerts, Crushes, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Everyone is Trans, Eviction, F/F, F/M, Fame, M/M, Marnie is a good sister and Raihan's a good boyfriend, Mental Breakdown, Moving In Together, Oneshot turned actual fic, Piers-centric, Post-Canon, also i got a dumb comment so i gotta clarify, and i'm not even joking, everyone is autistic, it's actually an autistic meltdown but whatever, obviously, that moment when you kin a man so you feel a Need to write something about him, this takes place a couple years after the game and allister's like 14 while hop is 15
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:08:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 4,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22778467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: It's terrifyingly easy to break down.***CRITICISM APPRECIATED AND ENCOURAGED***
Relationships: Kibana | Raihan/Nezu | Piers, Onion | Allister/Hop
Comments: 13
Kudos: 104
Collections: Anonymous





	1. Chapter 1

Being a rockstar wasn't good for Piers.

That doesn't mean the music was bad for him. It was one of the most therapeutic outlets he had. It had  _ only  _ ever helped him.

It was the people aspect.

He was in his own world, absorbed by the music, pouring his heart out, the only tension in his body being from how tightly he gripped the microphone to keep himself steady, but up onstage in front of thousands of people screaming his name. Then afterward they'd beg for an encore, despite it being known he didn't  _ do  _ encores (because of how stressful all eyes being on him was, but he didn't dare admit that).

The worst part about that is that he never talked about it, and he either cried himself to sleep after a concert or just repressed all of those negative emotions, the latter being more common.

The pressure. The publicity. The constant input. It was all so overwhelming, and he just held it in, hiding it behind a calm, unaffected demeanor.

Marnie, the one who'd taken his place as a Gym Leader specifically because being both superstar and Gym Leader was too much for Piers, knew about it. Raihan, his now-boyfriend, knew about it. Team Yell, which was comprised of some of his closest friends, knew about it. But nobody else.

Despite them knowing and being supportive, he elected to hide it anyway. And it stayed that way for a long time. Too long, really.

Then, one fateful day during a particularly emotionally taxing and physically demanding tour, it all came crashing down.

He had a major meltdown onstage. On live TV, which was being broadcasted worldwide.

Beginning to end was immortalized in AVI format.

* * *

Raihan took him back to the hotel they'd been staying at and helped him into more comfortable clothes before dimming the lights, calling Obstagoon so Piers could pet him, laying on the couch with him, and brushing his hair.

"I know things have been hard lately."

Piers, not quite ready to speak yet, made a soft noise of acknowledgment. Barely audible, in contrast to his singing. And everything he'd done before this. Not that he really cared, still being in the process of de-escalating.

He never noticed just how soft Obstagoon's fur was.

"You gonna be okay?"

"Mmm."

"I'll take that as a 'maybe'." He carefully took down the other's ponytail before continuing to brush his hair, running his fingers through it now and then. "You're so strong, you know that?"

"Hm?"

"Yeah. You go through so much and yet look at you. You're doing so much better." He smiled and leaned forward to kiss his tear-stained cheek. "You're more outgoing, more positive, you've got a better self-image, it's amazing how far you've come. There's still work to be done, but we'll get through it, yeah?"

"Mmm-hmm." He shut his eyes and sighed.

"Tired?"

A small nod.

"There's nothing else that needs to be done today. We can just chill and watch movies. Does that sound good?"

"Uh-huh." He hugged Obstagoon, ducking his head down a bit.

"Want me to go get snacks?"

"N-no, it's--"

"Okay. You don't need to talk unless you want to, okay?"

He nodded again, sitting back up and letting go of Obstagoon in favor of turning around and hugging Raihan.

The taller man chuckled and pressed a kiss to Piers' forehead. "Love ya."

He gave a tired smile in response.


	2. Chapter 2

Just several hours later, the press had already picked up the story and ran with it, as Piers discovered while scrolling pointlessly on Pokegram.

"I don't think you should read it..."

"I'm gonna read it anyway." He clicked on the link, then began reading the article.

The video was linked at the top, above the title.

"Rockstar Gone Mad? Spikemuth's Piers Cracks Under Pressure".

Raihan put a hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to read it. Hearing what they say will only make this worse."

"'Earlier today, during this year's region-wide tour, superstar and ex-Gym Leader Piers had a mental breakdown onstage'," Piers began reading, suppressing his accent in favor of a flat, even speech pattern. "'Video shows him performing as usual before suddenly screaming and sobbing, collapsing and stumbling while attempting to get backstage, likely to calm down.'"

Raihan sighed and hugged him, nuzzling against his neck.

"'Pressure has been mounting lately for the man, from his tour to his two upcoming albums to some theorized strain in his relationship, so this is likely the result of that. However, it's also possible that this is the result of some underlying mental illness, such as psychopathy, or even drug use.'"

"People are stupid."

"'Piers himself has yet to release any statements regarding the incident, but his younger sister Marnie has.'"

There was a video of Marnie that had been filmed herself in her room judging by the thumbnail. Piers tapped the play button.

She was visibly upset, most likely having been harassed by the paparazzi after it went live.

"I.. I don't know what's goin' on in his life, in his head. I don't know what he's goin' through. All I ask is that everyone respects him and his privacy. He'll talk about it when he feels ready."

He smiled, exited the page, and set his phone down, not wanting to read anymore. Obstagoon ducked his head under Piers' now-empty hand, wanting to be petted again.

He let out a soft chuckle and scratched behind the Pokemon's ear.

Raihan sighed a little and ran a hand through the shorter man's hair. "You sure you're okay, Piers?" 

"Mmm. I'll live."

"Want me to shut up?"

"Nah, you're fine." He stretched a little and started absentmindedly scratching at his arm.

"Hey." He grabbed his wrist, pulling his hand away from his arm. "You promised you'd stop doing that. You _make yourself bleed_ when you do that."

He didn't reply, instead looking down at the floor and biting his lip.

The 'you're not okay' went unspoken. "You should sleep. We can worry about all of this later."

Piers nodded and turned to face Raihan, hugging him and letting himself drift off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look what I did. I added another chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Sleep wasn't without its fair share of issues.

Namely being on that stage again, sweating and blinded by the bright spotlights and deafened by guitar and drums and cheering and his own voice ringing in his ears, forcing himself to stay energetic enough to satisfy the crowd until he just couldn't anymore.

He blacked out on and off, barely registering anything that was happening around him anymore. Both too much input and not enough. He didn't know what he was doing until when it was all over and one of the members of Team Yell, Yuki, was trying to get him to stop hyperventilating backstage.

That same miserable feeling like a sludge pooling in his chest but stretched out as if in slow motion, extended, making him suffer longer and the jeers of the crowd that much louder. A distorted version of the day's events.

When he finally jolted awake again, trying to catch his breath, he was in the bed.

Alone.

Sitting up and stumbling to his feet, he left the "bedroom" and went out onto the balcony.

Raihan turned to face him, looking slightly sheepish. "Oh, you're awake."

"Yeah."

"Are you okay?"

"Still tryin' to figure that out myself." He took a step toward the other. "Are _you_ okay? Usually you're not up in the middle of the night."

"I'm fine. A lot of things have happened in the past few days, 's all."

"Ah." Piers leaned against the rail and looked up at the sky. "The stars are beautiful tonight, yeah?"

"Yeah. Not as beautiful as y--"

 _"Raihan!_ " He covered his face with his hands, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the other's laughter.

"What? What'd I do?"

He gave no proper response, just a noise of mild annoyance. Raihan grinned and picked up Piers, carrying him back to the bed and setting him down.

"Now that I'm wide awake, I won't be able to get back to sleep. Kinda pointless, innit?"

"Eh. At least try to get some more sleep, okay?"

".....okay."


	4. Chapter 4

Piers managed to get about 20 more minutes of sleep for his troubles.

Could be worse, he supposed. He could've not fallen asleep again at all.

Thankfully they had packed to leave today. Getting back to Spikemuth, getting back _home_ , would be worth the week-long wait.

* * *

No matter what time of day, it was always dark.

"Place looks even worse than last time I was here," Raihan muttered.

"Yeah, it's safe t' say the place's a dump, reserved for trash, Zigzagoons, and the lowest o' the low."

"You did everything you could, and Marnie's doing her best, too."

"Not like that's workin' out. Obviously." He kicked an empty dumpster, cackling at the resounding thud, then ran towards what could only be assumed to be his house.

Though, if Raihan was gonna be honest, it more closely resembled a long-abandoned shack you'd find in Glimwood Tangle than a place somebody lived.

Piers stopped before he even got on the porch, seeing as most of the things he owned were on said porch, with a paper taped to one of his speakers.

Raihan pulled off the paper and quickly scanned over it.

An eviction notice.

"Ya don't need t' say it. I know what it is." He waved his hand dismissively. "This has happened before. Easy as finding another v--"

"Why? Did you do something wrong? Make your landlord angry or something?"

" _Tch._ If only." He put his hands in his pockets and sighed. "Haven't been making rent. Marnie's not old enough to get another job, I've still got custody of her, still gotta take care of her since being a Gym Leader doesn't pay well. That an' covering expenses for food and clothes and concerts and keeping equipment in good re-- why am I even telling you all this? Not like it's your problem."

Raihan frowned a little, watching Piers sit down on the steps and hang his head to stare at the ground before sitting next to him.

"You know you could've asked me for help. I wouldn't have hesitated, especially if you'd told me you were in a situation like this."

"Nah, I'd hate to bother ya like that."

"You... wouldn't be bothering me." 

"...You know I've been doin' everything on my own since I was 12. To ask for help now... just wouldn't feel right."

Raihan hugged Piers tightly, balling a fist in his jacket. "You can stay with me for a while. You'll at least have somewhere better to stay, and you can figure out the rest on your own if that's what you really want."

The rockstar looked up at the other with wide eyes, and after a few moments of careful consideration, nodded.


	5. Chapter 5

The two went back to Hammerlocke together, having agreed to getting Piers' things later. After breakfast and a brief chat, it had quickly become apparent that the rockstar wasn’t mentally prepared for the situation.

“You really didn’t have to do this, y’know. 'm fine on my own, really.”

“If you don’t wanna stay, I’m not forcing you to.”

“I-I know, but…” He looked away, biting his lip.

“Hey…” Raihan smiled and pulled Piers into a hug. “I know what you’re thinking. You’re not wasting my time, you’re not being annoying, I’m not letting you stay out of pity. I genuinely care about you and it hurts me to see you’re in a tough situation, so I’m going to help as much as you’ll let me. Okay?”

"......o-okay." He looked down at himself, realizing he hadn't changed clothes yet, and frowned. "Do you mind if I--"

"You go ahead." He let go of the other with a small smile and handed him one of the suitcases. "You remember which room is where, right?"

"Yeah. Thanks." He took the suitcase and walked away to take a shower and get clean clothes on. Raihan kept himself busy reading random articles and explaining the situation to Marnie, despite being well aware Piers would've done it himself.

* * *

Piers was looking at himself in the mirror. It'd actually been a while since he'd done so beyond a quick glance.

His thick, fluffy hair was still damp, but it was dry enough for him to pull into a loose side-ponytail, which he'd already done. His bright blue eyes and the dark circles under them sharply contrasted with his abnormally pale skin, along with the pale pink scars on his chest, on his hips and stomach, and along his arms. He was frail and thin, but not unhealthy. Piers decided he liked his appearance.

Just as he pulled on a worn-out teeshirt of some band he listened to in his teens, his phone rang.

He tugged on a pair of shorts and answered it, leaving the bathroom. "Helloooo~?"

"Hey, Piers... you doing alright?"

He smiled. "Oh! Hey, Leon. I'm fine."

Leon wasn't convinced. "You sure?"

"Positive. How are _you_ doin'?"

"Got a new job, new place, got accepted into uni, I'd say--"

"Hold on, time out, _what?_ " Saying Piers was surprised would be a gross understatement.

"Hm?"

" _You_?"

"It's online, if that helps."

"Fuckin' _university_?"

"You're never gonna get over that, are you?"

"Honestly? I don't think so."

"....yeah, I'll tell him. Hop says hi."

"Tell 'im I said hi, too. I'm gonna go now."

"Alright, bye!"

"Bye."


	6. Chapter 6

Piers didn't have much besides his recording equipment, his Pokemon, and clothes. Raihan didn't think a couple of notebooks and a plastic tote that the other refused to disclose the contents of really counted.

While Piers was setting up said recording equipment, Raihan had decided to flip through one of those notebooks.

Unsurprisingly, it had been used for writing songs. As much as he liked Piers' music when it was finished and released for all to listen to, it was always fascinating to see the process. Messy as it was, he found it beautiful.

The little scrawlings in the corner of pages, notes about what lyrics mean, pages dedicated to nothing but what he found inspiring, things that were scrapped, re-ordered, saved for another song.

After a while, something caught his eye. A song Piers hadn't mentioned to him, even in passing, which was more than unusual. He often went on and on about his work, especially when he was in a good mood.

"Huh."

Piers looked up from what he was doing. "Raihan... ya-- put it down an' look through a-another one. Please?"

The microphone let out a high whine in protest of his words, causing both of them to wince.

"You sure you don't want me to look? I've already seen it..."

He looked down at his keyboard, pressing his fingers on some random keys. "I  _ guess _ .... it was supposed t' be a surprise, though."

"If it makes you feel better, I'll probably forget about it." Raihan offered a small smile before actually taking a look at the scrawled words. He occasionally glanced up at Piers, who would blush and look away, and upon getting to the end, closed the notebook.

"You... you wrote that.... about me. About  _ us _ ."

Apart from wide eyes, Piers couldn't gauge Raihan's reaction. While since it was Raihan, it couldn't have been anything bad, it still scared him.

He nodded. "I-I was plannin' on releasin' it on your birthday."

Raihan stepped forward, and Piers didn't know what he'd been expecting, but it certainly hadn't been Raihan pulling him into a tight hug, much less the following words.

"Can I kiss you?"

"...o-of course you can."

* * *

By dark, Piers was completely settled in and was watching movies on the couch with Obstagoon, Malamar, Flygon, and Duraludon while Raihan sat cross-legged on the floor (his own choice, of course).

"You know what I just realized?"

"Hm?" Piers readjusted his ponytail, yawning a little, and leaned forward a bit.

"You haven't eaten anything today."

"Nnn...."

"I'm not mad and I'm not gonna force you to eat. I'm just saying it'd be better if you did. Okay?"

".....okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone!  
> COVID-19's a bitch, but I'm in a situation where I'll be fine.  
> Remember to wash your hands, wear a mask at all times in public, and stay home as much as you can.


	7. Chapter 7

Marnie set her phone down, having tried to call Piers several times to no avail. His phone was either dead or off, and either way, she wasn't gonna get a reply anytime soon.

She glanced out of the window of the treehouse, seeing Allister outside talking with his Mimikyu, and the corner of her mouth twitched upward into what might've been a smile.

As she hopped out of her raised bed and walked into another room, she couldn't help but reminisce about the month or so Raihan and Leon had helped her, Allister, Bea, Hop, the twins (Gloria and Victor), and Bede build this elaborate treehouse in the collective branches of a few trees.

She specifically remembered how Raihan had accidentally slammed the hammer onto his finger and proceeded to shout and curse. Very loudly. Very uncharacteristic of him, so they'd all gotten a laugh out of it, Raihan included.

Ever since it'd been built and furnished, the group of teens had lived here, and quite comfortably at that.

"Hey, Marnie," Hop called from another room. "have you seen Allister?"

"He's outside." She ambled into said room, platform boots clunking against the wooden floor with each step. "Y'know, ya sure do spend a lot a' time with him.... are ya sure ya don't have a crush on him?"

"M-marnie!" Hop covered his face, making a poor attempt at hiding the very noticeable blush on his cheeks.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm just screwin' around."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"I'm gonna be heading to Hammerlocke." She folded her arms and shifted her weight onto her left leg. "Don't burn the place down, and make sure Gloria takes a nap when she gets home."

"Got it." Hop still didn't uncover his face.

"Struck a nerve there, huh?"

"Nnn...."

"Everyone knows you're gay, Hop. It's fine. Nobody's gonna--" She sighed. "Okay, _we_ won't judge you."

"Shut up."

"Okay, I'm leavin'. You go get your Prince Charming." Marnie turned on her heel, marched to the exit, and climbed down the wooden ladder as carefully as she could. Morpeko was quick to follow, the small mouselike Pokemon squeaking indignantly and tugging at her dress with her small paws.

"Hungry?"

A squeak of confirmation. Marnie kneeled down, picked up Morpeko, and gave her some roasted nuts she'd been keeping in the pocket of her jacket.

While her companion happily munched away, she began what would most definitely be a long walk.


	8. Chapter 8

"Heya, sunshine!"

Leon looked back over his shoulder. He'd been filling out some paperwork related to university. 

He'd chosen an online one so he could still spend a considerable amount of time with his friends and family. Not that it made that much of a difference since he was only now realizing what he'd gotten himself into.

He relaxed a little and greeted his friend with a smile. "Hey, Milo. Is turning up unannounced your new trademark?"

"Not exactly... y'know where buttercup got off to?"

"Nope. Last I knew she was off with a friend of hers." Leon gestured vaguely. "Not my business where she spends her time. She knows how to take care of herself."

Milo nodded. "Right. Anyway--"

"Eight hours?"

"Not even one. Haven't left the farm all day, didn't see a need."

"Wish I were that lucky."

"What? Lucky enough to get harassed for "faking"?"

"At least you don't have crippling self-loathing 80% of the time."

".....right. Let's change the subject."

"Why'd you come here?"

"Just wanted to see you. And I haven't seen  _ her  _ all day, either."

"That why you asked?"

"Mhm."

"How come you're sticking around, then? Usually you're the first to leave when questions are answered."

"I told ya I wanted to see ya." Milo smiled and took a step closer to the ex-Champion. "You're not busy, right?"

Leon fully turned in his computer chair to face the other. "I was, but the authority can wait. Not like they matter."

He smirked. "Catching on?"

"Don't give yourself that much credit. You know I was anti-establishment from the beginning. I only joined the Challenge all those years ago because I thought the title Champion wasn't just that. Thought I could do something about the corruption."

"I didn't know you way back then."

Leon nearly flinched as Milo tucked a lock of his hair behind his ear for him. "You knew  _ of  _ me, just under a girl's name."

"Right. That was.... what, 11 years ago?"

"Make that 15."

"Oh. Quick math." The farmer shook his head. "Why are we talking about this?"

"I'm terrible with directions, but I'm not stupid by any stretch of the imagination. And you started it."

"Right."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's something incredibly off about this chapter and I can't put my finger on it.  
> Nonetheless, here it is.  
> (On another note, a friend of mine selfships with Milo, Leon, and Melony, so the character Milo calls "buttercup" is her self-insert. She'll be brought up from time to time and likely never referred to by name, so I figured I'd clear it up for you all to prevent any confusion.)


	9. Chapter 9

Marnie realized far too late that she could've taken a sky taxi, but these sort of revelations were normal for her, so she continued as if it'd never been an option to begin with.

Once she'd gotten there, she'd fallen asleep on the porch from pure exhaustion, but she felt it was worth it when in the morning she found Piers was _already_ doing much better.

She was smarter on the way back to Spikemuth to meet the day's opponents.

* * *

Hop smiled, took one last look at himself with his Rotomphone, and went down the ladder of the treehouse.

The chilly morning air didn't have much of an effect on his mood. If anything, it served to make him smile wider. He'd been planning this for weeks now, and it was cathartic at the very least to finally put it into motion.

It didn't feel that different, he noted as he started his daily walk to the Pokemon Lab, and yet there was something that had completely changed. Though he couldn't quite place his finger on it, it felt better.

He liked it.

Some of the other people he passed shot him weird looks, but other than that, everything was normal.

It stayed normal until he got to the Pokemon Lab, which hadn't been very far away, and Sonia pulled him aside.

"Please tell me nobody said anything negative about this. Please." There was something desperate in her eyes; she knew something he didn't.

"Nope! Just got some funny looks, is all."

She let out a sigh of relief and worried the collar of Hop's dress in between her thumb and forefinger. "Good. You look lovely."

"Thank you!"

A smile from the woman. He, of course, smiled back.

"So what are we doing today?"

" _I_ am gonna go through some old files, and _you_ , sir, are gonna take notes."

"Okay! Got it."

* * *

"You and Marnie care a lot about each other."

Piers nodded. "Y-yeah. Why wouldn't I?"

"I dunno. Gordie doesn't get along well with _his_ siblings, so..."

"Apples to oranges. Completely different situations."

"Fair enough." Raihan chuckled a bit and let Flygon out of the Pokeball, watching as the Pokemon bounded across the lawn, ran in circles, and flew around, letting out all of his excess energy. "What's it like having a sister?"

"Don' ask _me_ that." He nodded to Obstagoon, who proceeded to chase and tackle Flygon, who then started kicking Obstagoon in retaliation. Had Piers not known both Pokemon, he would've called Obstagoon back, but he knew they were just playing. "We weren't normal."

"Nobody's experiences are the same. I'd just like to hear yours."

"I... I don't wanna talk about it."

"That's fine. I respect that. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Raihan smiled.

There was an understanding in his eyes that could only come from someone who also knew extreme hardship. Piers remembered a story (a horrific occurrence, really) that had been recounted to him, earlier in their relationship, shortly after Raihan had woken up screaming. A story that had sent the other into tears, a story that had been promised to be hidden under lock and key and never spoken of again.

He smiled back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot this chapter existed, and since this chapter was already short, I just took the OLD chapter 10 and slapped it onto here.  
> Would've kept said old chapter 10, but the tone was inconsistent with the timing of this whole thing, if that makes sense.


	10. Chapter 10

Raihan sighed, then smiled. This was only the second challenger to beat him, and they would be the last he'd face for the day.

The child beamed as Raihan went through the motions and awarded them a Gym Badge before wishing them luck battling Gloria if they chose to do so.

Though he seriously doubted they'd beat her, as she'd held her position for 5 years already, he'd been proven wrong on that sort of thing twice, so he opted to keep an open mind.

With a smile, he watched as they walked away, seeming lighter on their feet than they had coming in. As much as he hated losing, he loved seeing the joy on another's face after beating him.

Snapping a selfie and sighing, he made his way back to the locker room while the press prepared the questions they were most definitely going to harass him with when he attempted to leave the Gym and go back home.

As sure as sunrise, when Raihan stepped outside, he had cameras shoved in his face and questions frantically shouted at him.

Resisting the urge to pull his hood over his face he'd sworn off years ago, he instead put on a smile and humored the reporters, cracking jokes and chuckling in hopes of it hiding his discomfort. It seemed to work, as none of them seemed to stop asking questions or taking pictures.

After a minute or so, the questions turned to him and Piers. Specifically, how Piers was doing and how their relationship was holding up in the aftermath of the meltdown.

"It's none of my business to say, and it's none of your business to ask. Now, it'd be better for everyone involved, especially you, if you  _ quit it. _ "

Not caring that he'd just snapped in his annoyance, he walked away in a hurry and called a sky taxi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapters are becoming a new normal.  
> They move the plot a little better and are easier to write, so I'm not going to complain.  
> This one was really, really short, though, much shorter than intended, and I hope to avoid that going forward.


	11. Chapter 11

"Raihan."

"Hm?" He looked up from braiding Piers' hair, which he'd only started doing once he got permission.

He sighed. "I can tell you're upset about something. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm.... i-it's nothing, really, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"You're dealing with enough on your own, you don't need to worry about me."

"Yeah, but I care about you. You're my boyfriend, after all."

Even though they'd been dating for a while now, it still threw Raihan off whenever Piers outright stated it.

He didn't have any response, just continued braiding.

"I know you don't like talking about your problems, but just know I'm here for ya, okay? Just because I've hit a rough patch doesn't mean that's suddenly changed."

"....uh-huh."

Piers closed his eyes, knowing Raihan was likely gonna go nonverbal for a bit and not wanting to push him, and just focused on the music he'd put on as Raihan undid the braid and started over, not quite satisfied with the result.

* * *

They had stayed like that for around an hour, just silently enjoying one another's presence. Raihan never did manage to make a braid he felt looked right, so he just gave up and held Piers in his lap while idly combing his fingers through his hair and occasionally pressing kisses to his cheek.

Piers didn't mind.

Of course, they were broken from their peaceful moment by Goodra crying for attention from the other room. He got up to let Raihan leave and was about to sit back down when Raihan gently tugged him by his wrist.

"What, you want me t' go, too?"

He nodded and opened his mouth to say something, but reconsidered and looked away.

"....okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK BABY  
> Really short chapter, but eh. It's just to pad it out and write some more fluffy content ft. our Two Special Bois, I've got something that actually adds to the story coming next chapter.


End file.
